By Alex Buck,NFL Analysis Network

Copyright yardbarker

The Broncos started horribly, botching the opening snap into their own end zone for a safety. They immediately handed the lead to Seattle, and that set the tone for the game.

The first quarter was largely a defensive battle. The Seahawks converted two field goals to make it 8-0 on the night, and the Broncos were looking to get their high-flying pass game going any way they could.

Late in the first, Peyton Manning tried to find Julius Thomas over the middle, but threw his pass too high and saw it picked off by Kam Chancellor. The Seahawks converted that turnover into a Marshawn Lynch touchdown and took a healthy lead.

The game was blown wide open just before halftime. Manning had a pass tipped, and linebacker Malcolm Smith was sitting underneath it. He flew back the other way for six, and the Seahawks went in at halftime with a 22-0 lead, having shut out the best offense in football in the first half of the Super Bowl.

Things got worse for the Broncos the moment they came back out of the tunnel, when Percy Harvin returned the opening kick for a touchdown. The Seahawks held a 29-point lead, and the Broncos now had to try to find 30 points, a total the Legion of Boom and company had only allowed once that year.